Hugh's Laithes Pike
Hugh's Laithes Pike at 419m (1,375ft) is an Outlying Fell above Burnbanks near the foot of Haweswater, west of Shap, with views towards the Haweswater fells. Wainwright included it in his Outlying Fells guide.
Summit conditions on Hugh's Laithes Pike
On the summit on Thursday 29 October: 10° to 8°C, gusts to 22 mph, 0.6 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.
The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →
Routes up Hugh's Laithes Pike
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Four low tops in the woods and crags above Haweswater — Naddle Low Forest, Hugh's Laithes Pike, Wallow Crag and Naddle High Forest. Just 7.6 km and 303 m, easy for length but rated hard to navigate. About 2–2¾ hours.
Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →
How hard is Hugh's Laithes Pike?
The shortest way up we hold is Birketts South of Burnbanks — 7.64 km, 303 m of ascent, ~2–2¾ h. On our scale its hardest axis is navigation — Hard.
All axes: navigation: Hard · steepness: Moderate · length: Easy · terrain: Not assessed · exposure: Not assessed.
These are the route page’s grades, set by the rules on how we grade: length and steepness measured from its GPX track, the others set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap. The route page says which. How we check →
Conditions and 7-day summit forecast
Modelled for the 419 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
Taken 29 October 2026, 09:00 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)
Parking & buses for Hugh's Laithes Pike
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
2 more places to park near Hugh's Laithes Pike
Positions are approximate.
Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.
Buses
The nearest bus stop we hold is the UB2 at Askham, outside Stores, 9.5 km of walking from the start — no bus route we hold serves it. It is a seasonal service too: 1 November 2026 is its last day of the year (confirmed with the operator, 9 October 2026); it returns on 22 March 2027.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Hazards on Hugh's Laithes Pike
Notes from a planned route, not walked: Birketts South of Burnbanks
- The Naddle ridge carries a 1 km+ stretch with no clear path through rough forest-edge ground — faint trods come and go; keep the map handy.
If you need to get off (the leg from Naddle Low Forest): Retreat: Due to the 200m distance, the only logical bail is to retrace your steps south to Naddle Low Forest and descend the way you came.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches Hugh's Laithes Pike.
We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.
If you need Mountain Rescue
Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.
Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.
Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.
If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.
From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (opens in new tab) (read 26 October 2026).
Map, GPX and nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.
Birketts within 3 km of Hugh's Laithes Pike
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Hugh's Laithes Pike
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and compass. How to use this guide.
On the hill: terrain and water on Hugh's Laithes Pike
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Birketts South of Burnbanks route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
About Hugh's Laithes Pike
Classifications & hill data
Is Hugh's Laithes Pike a Wainwright?
Hugh's Laithes Pike is one of Wainwright's Outlying Fells, not one of the 214 in the Pictorial Guides. It is also on the Synge list.
Selected lists
This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.
The summit is not a Birkett top.
Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →
Places to stay near this fell
- Haweswater Hotel (opens in new tab) hotelabout 2.5 km
- New Ing Lodge (opens in new tab) hostelabout 6.0 km
We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).